Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.

What’s New This Week?

Google+ Launches New Plugins for Your Website: Google+ launches “a bunch of new plugins that help visitors to connect with you on Google+, directly from your website.” There’s an updated Google+ Follow plugin and updated badges for your Google+ Profiles and Pages. You can now also create a badge for your Google+ Communities.

In this article I’ll share five ways you can improve your Google+ experience.

Why Google+?

Because Google+ isn’t just a social network–it’s part of a powerful social platform that integrates with key capabilities like Google Docs, chat, hangouts, email and more.

For that reason alone, Google+ is a high-value opportunity worth investing time and resources to cultivate.

A common misconception is that Google+ is a ghost town. In reality, Google+ is home to vibrant, active communities that foster deep engagement. The trick is learning how to find and take advantage of these communities to build long-lasting relationships with your core audiences.

Here are five effective strategies that will take your engagement on Google+ to a whole new level.

#1: Make Your Google+ Page Findable

First, to make sure your Google+ page is easily findable, add a Google+ Badge to your website. You can add a badge for both personal Google+ accounts and business accounts.

Here’s an example of a Google+ Badge code that you can place on your website.

Badges make it easy for visitors to find and engage with you in one simple click of a mouse.

Why Google+?

According to GlobalWebIndex, Google+ now has 359 million active users, which puts it ahead of Twitter’s 200 million active users. With that jump in numbers, it’s clear that now is the time to use Google+ to promote your brand.

Here’s an updated guide on all of the things you need to take advantage of Google+ to gain more exposure for your content and your business.

#1: Claim Authorship With Your Personal Google+ Profile

Google uses Authorship to create a visual tie between you and the content you publish. The enhanced search result listings help readers identify your content at a glance and help you build authority and influence.

Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up-to-date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.

What’s New This Week?

New Facebook Business Pages: After rolling out Timeline on personal profiles, Facebook is now rolling out Timeline for Business pages. Timeline changes the design and layout of Business pages and makes them look like personal profiles.

All Facebook Business pages will be moved to the new Timeline by the end of March. You can curate the information on your page beforehand.

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